Tombstone epitaph., 1887-12-10

CtVtuZatlOn anu gwen 70 SuCn uorriUlo practices was too absurd for even sailor Jacks belief They might be pirates and wreckers, but they certainly could not be cannibals. am writing of twelve years ago. lf could not believe 1t then, who can believe 1t now' And yet this dispatch has lately been published all over tho country; --- tre
 SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 5.-Tnformation is re. ceived that on one oe the outlying islands of the Sandwich group massacre ofthree boatmen be- longing to the schooner Mary Anderson was lately made by natives under exceptionally bru- tai circumstances. The boatnien were first se- verely wounded to reader them helpless, tied hand and foot, and then taken In canoes over to another island and traded for pigs. The pur. chasers theu finished them and had . cannibal teast on thetr bodies.
 lquieted the fears of the sailor with me by affirming that the natives yet hoped to ses the brig come ashore, and by holding us they knew they would weaken the crew and render the event more probable. Shortly after noon they gave us . very liberal meal, and from what outside words could catch up gathered that messen- gers bad been sent oil to bring che vil- lagers home. to attack the brig. They came before sunset, and they had scarcely arrived when . couple of guards came and conducted me to the head tnau or chief. He was short, stout, ugly look ing fellow, and saw at glance that all the people seemed to fear him. He had been told, ! suppose, that could speak the dialect, and no sooner had come into his presence than he shouted at me:
 ''So you dare land on my island with ont first seeking permission. We shall see about that" 'd @'% a' g! n,
 "But ws are sailors in distress," re- piled.
 ''Bahi What is your distress to met Am l responsible because you don't know how to sail your ship safelyi Where does your craft come from, and where is she bound toi" '''T'-N -'''As a@' I told him truly. ~a
 "What Is your carg0r
 ''She is in ballast only"
 "How many men are left aboardr
 Seven, counting the cook"
 Ills he negrOS"
 "He is."
 "Wen, you needn't count him. We negro once and 1t made me sick for three days. We win capture the ship and bring your friends here.', g ,i
 .'But why not carry word for us to some of the ports and thus earn large sum of moneyP' 5-"fi-h't i.i ''Eh "And be seized and shut up in prison, or hung! Take the lean, long devil away and fatten him up. If he won't eat you must cram the food down his throat. {" He hit the nail on the head when he called me long and lean. I stood about six feet, was long armed and long legged, and weighed only 140 pounds. They might have hunted for . week without finding an ounce of fat. When I returned to the hut no longer had any hope. felt certain that we had not only fallen among cannibals, but that some of us would surely be eaten within a day or two. was greatly -wor-' ried, too, about the brig. The yawl was the only boat left her hy the storm, and our continued absence would puzzle the captain. He would have no idea of the mess we had got into, and would not therefore be on his guard against an at tack by the natives. am certain they meant to make one, but Providence inter fered. With the going down of the sun Q strong breeze set in from the land and before midnight, as learned several months later, the cables which had 90 long stood the strain parted and let the brig drift to sea. She was picked up by @ steamer next day and lowed into Homo lulu, and the captain reported that we of the yawl had likely been capsized and drowned while trying to come of to the brig after dark. That report settled our fate, and nothing more would ever be learned of us except by accident.
 Our first night in the village was a wretched one. The natives were awake all night long, singing, shouting and rejoicing over our capture, and, 1t being midsummer, we were nearly devoured alive by insects. caught . few words now and then from the guards dur. ing the night, and thus learned that the sea was too heavy to permit the attack on the brig, and that none of us would be eaten until the people of Little Cannibal, which was three or four miles distant, could cross the channel. This, they figured, could be done in another twenty four hours, but they were wrong. The | wind held at half gale for the next two days, and 1t was on the fourth day of our capture that the visitors appeared. A chief and about twenty men came, and were warmly welcomed. l had not seen any of the sailors except the one who lodged with me up to this time, but l knew the huts in which they were con fined, and by looking through the crevices | of my prison walls got an idea who would be the first victim. The fattest man in our crew had come ashore with me-
 He was @ second class seaman named Philbrick, and was built like porpoise He had a smooth face, red cheeks, and was in the bloom of health. If the natives were after something fat and tender in the way of human flesh they would certainly | take Fhilbrick, and soon saw they meant | to. The choicest food they could provide was being carried to him, and it was evi- dent they werestufilng him for the feast He, poor fellow, evidently had no sus- | picions, or, with sailors proverbial reck- lessness, was bound to live high while the opportunity held out. ''1'' ''ss' 'q't&'
 The visitors arrived about 9 o'clock in the morning, and half an hour later l saw Philbrick led out. I do not think the
 men in any of the other huts could have
 seen him. think they had given him
 plenty of strong drink, for he acted tipsy,
 and as he came out of the hut he was singing happy song. The people at once gathered around him and led him of to the woods in the rear of the village. Our guards went with the crowd, their places
 being taken by i've or six boys of from 15 to IS years of age. These boys were well
 armed, attended strictly to the business on hand, and any attempt to force our way
 out would have resulted in our death. It was 8 o'clock in tho afternoon when
 the men returned, and was soon aware
 of the fact that Philbrick had been killed
 and devoured. Indeed the people con.
 0ratulated each other on his excellent con.